Vegetarian grilling

[cathyeats]

Since summertime is upon us, I thought it might be a good idea to start a vegetarian grilling thread. I do eat some meat, mostly chicken, but this summer want to focus more on meatless options. I love barbecue but my arteries can't take it!

To start things off, I came up with a killer recipe for tofu kebabs. I can't believe how much I liked this, considering I'm not a big tofu fan. But it's really great. The key is to find the firmest tofu you can - I used a "Super Firm" by Woodstock Farms.

Tofu Vegetable Kebabs with Peanut Sauce

1/2 c. smooth, unsalted peanut butter

1/2 c. hot water

2 T. reduced sodium tamari, or soy sauce

2 T. mirin (sweet Japanese cooking wine, available in most supermarkets)

2 t. sesame oil

1/4 t. red pepper flakes

2 cloves garlic, minced

14 oz. extra firm tofu, cubed

1 red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch chunks

1 small zucchini, cut into 1-inch chunks

1 medium onion, quartered and cut into chunks

8 oz. mushrooms, quartered (or halved if small)

Soak 10 bamboo skewers in water for 20-30 minutes. Combine the first 7 ingredients in a large bowl and stir until the peanut butter is mixed in. Place the cubed tofu in the sauce and marinate for 20 minutes. Remove the tofu from the sauce, then thread the tofu and vegetables onto the skewers. Start a fire in your grill. When the coals are nice and hot, grill the skewers for 7-10 minutes, turning several times and brushing liberally with the peanut sauce. Drizzle any additional sauce over the skewers just before serving.

[CFT]

That looks absolutely yummy.

[Chris Amirault]

Most times when I grill, I make a basic zucchini or summer squash dish as follows.

I look for 1-2" diameter fruit -- nothing too big -- and split them lengthwise; then I score the cut side diagonally so that the flesh has diamond-shaped cuts into which I rub a bit of olive oil and onto which I sprinkle salt.

After grilling them over very hot coals to pick up some char and cook them through, I cut them into 1" chunks and then add a pepper, a fresh herb, and an acid of some sort. Successful recent versions include:

black pepper, mint, lime

Aleppo pepper, oregano, sherry vinegar

white pepper, thyme, lemon

Eating the last for lunch right now, in fact.

[Lisa Shock]

I tend to make pizza on the grill. (I don't have decent high-temp oven, so the grill works better.)

[nakji]

I like to grill fat king oyster mushrooms with salt and sesame oil.

[Snadra]

We like to brush halved zucchini, thickly sliced eggplant, and halved capsicums (peppers) with olive oil and bbq them and Lebanese bread. Sprinkly with sea salt, some fresh thyme and/or parsley and eat with homemade hummus (on the lemony side) and tzatziki (or however you spell it). Sliced tomato is nice on the side. If we want it a bit more substantial, we add a boiled potato. If it’s small and in its skin still we sometimes add the potato to the grill, but boiled potato is lovely with hummus anyway, and it makes a nice contrast to the grilled stuff. Great summer meal if the veggies are't hot straight off the grill, or winter meal if they are.